It's Just Something That I Have To Do
by MrsJackHarkness
Summary: Set after the events of S2E8...but if Alex hadn't been shot by Gene.


**AN:**

**Title: ****It's Just Something That I Have To Do**

**Words: **

**Romantic Pairings: Gene&Alex.**

**About: Ashes To Ashes**

**Summary: Set after series two episode eight, but what if Alex hadn't been shot by Gene.**

Alex sat on the living room floor of her flat, her back against the wall and her knees curled up with her arms wrapped around them tightly. The room was slowly becoming more and emptier, as did the rest of the flat. More cardboard boxes were brought in as more of her stuff was put in them. She was yet to tell the team what was going on, and she didn't really know if any of them would care.

It was hard for Alex, keeping such a secret from everybody, because the team liked to make plans and she knew that she wouldn't be able to stick to them; like going to watch the football or going out to the next police do.

She sat quietly at her desk and watched the people that she had grown to love go about their daily business. She saw Gene roll up the blinds and indicate for her to come into his office. Alex contemplated trying to make it look like she hadn't seen him, but he opened the door and called out her surname. He did that a lot nowadays; in fact he only called her that. Drake, the way he said it felt cold and heartless.

"Oi Drake!" he shouted "Do I have to come over there and drag you in here by your curly locks or are you going to shift you boney arse like a good girl?"

Alex sighed, pushed back her chair and headed to his office, making sure that he knew fully that she was not in a good mood. He stepped back inside after her and closed the door, putting his hands in his pockets and taking a step towards her.

"What's going on with you Drake?" he asked "You seem...you seem very distant"

"What do you expect?" she mumbled, fiddling with her fingernails.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"I said nothing is wrong, Guv" she spoke loudly "There is nothing for you to worry about, not that you worry about me anymore"

She reached for the door handle but Gene gripped hold of her wrist, pulling her away.

"Sit down"

She ignored him, just stood staring at the ground.

"I said sit down!"

She perched herself on the edge of his desk, and watched cautiously as he rolled the blinds back down.

"You better talk to me Drake, because I've had just about enough of your childish silence"

"That is what is wrong with me Gene" she sighed "Drake...it's always Drake! Drake this! Drake that! Piss off home Drake, you're no use to anyone!"

He stared at her and just as silence enveloped the room it was broken by a loud wave of tears coming from Alex.

"I'm...I'm sorry" he spoke, no emotion behind his words.

"No you're not" she snapped "No you're bloody not! You don't care about me Gene so why pretend? Why should we pretend any longer?"

"Because..."

She shook her head "No, don't reply to that Gene...you'll only make things worse"

Alex reached for the door but he stepped in front of her once again.

"Just let me go" she mumbled, feeling his body against hers just the slightest.

"No"

"Gene just let me go"

They spoke in whispers. They didn't need volume to get their message across. He let go of her wrists and tried to pull her into a hug, but she wouldn't let him.

She wiped her eyes and looked anywhere in the room but at him "Don't make this any harder for me"

"I know, alright" he told her "Viv told me about your transfer...why?"

"Because I don't think that I can look at you a moment longer Gene!"

She had used his name at the end of her heartbreaking sentence, digging the knife in a little deeper.

"You hurt me when you said that you can't trust me...and now, now I can't be around you...so just let me go"

He stood aside and watched her leave his office, grab her coat and burst out of the doors of CID...

Gene had gathered the team at Luigi's, knowing all too well that Alex was sat upstairs alone probably getting drunk.

"What's going on Guv?" Shaz asked "Where's DI Drake?"

"She is the reason I wanted you all here" he took a long drag on his cigarette and blew it out slowly "She's put in for a transfer"

Shaz covered her mouth with her hand in shock, Chris looked at the Guv not knowing if it was a joke and Ray just sat quietly as though he had expected it for a while.

"She says...she says that she can't look at me anymore, and that is why she has to go"

"But there must be something you can do Guv! The both of you, you bounce off of one another, you work amazingly together"

"Trust me Shaz, if there was something I could do there would be no point in doing it...she's made up her mind"

"Go and talk to her Guv" Ray put in "If you bug her enough she'll soon come around"

Gene decided to do just that. He ordered a bottle of the house wine to go and made his way up the stairs to Alex's flat as fast as he could. He waited a moment, catching his breath and contemplating whether he should talk to her, before he knocked on the door. It took a minute or so for her to answer, she was wearing her black silk nightshirt with her red dressing gown over the top.

"Oh...I didn't expect to see you again today" she said, tightening her robe around herself.

"Yeah well, there's a few things that we need to get out into the open isn't there?"

Alex took the bottle of wine from him and walked back into the flat, Gene followed her inside and closed the door behind himself.

"I see you've started packing then" he noted "Do you have any glasses unpacked?"

He looked at her and noticed that she had already opened the bottle and was stood by the window drinking it.

"Obviously you don't want a glass then"

"Do you know what your problem is Gene?" she spoke "You're too...too..."

"Handsome?" he cut in "Brave? Noble? Heroic?"

She shook her head as she took another swig from the wine "Moody...you're too moody"

Gene frowned "Is this going somewhere?"

Alex nodded and turned to face him "You never smile, I haven't seen you smile in a long time"

"That's because there isn't much to smile about when you're out catching scum"

"But what about when you're not catching scum?" she asked, waving a finger at him in her slightly drunken state "What about all those times that we've sat together, at the bar, down in Luigi's...all those times that we've gotten pissed and stumbled back up here?"

"I suppose that I can smile about them" he told her "We've had some good times me and you"

"Back in the days when I was Bolls don't you mean?"

"You still are!" he told her.

She looked at him with utter desperation in her eyes "Then say it, let me hear you say it"

"This is silly I..."

"Gene please!"

"Bolls!" he shouted "There I've said it!"

She shook her head drunkenly "No..."

There was silence. Alex placed the wine bottle on the floor and sat down on the sofa, placing her head in her hands she began to cry.

"Oh, look don't cry" Gene sighed "You'll only make your make-up run"

"I don't care" she sobbed.

Gene sat down beside her and put his arm around her, pulling her closer. He could feel a damp patch being created on his shirt as she cried into him, he held her closer and ran a hand through her brunette curls.

"Please don't cry, you look all helpless when you cry"

She wiped her eyes and sat up a little, resting her chin on his shoulder "Will you stay with me tonight?"

"What? This morning you were telling me that you couldn't stand the sight of me and now you want me to stay?"

"I don't know what I want anymore Gene, help me to decide what I want"

He turned his face to look at her and realised that their lips were just centimetres apart.

"Hey" she whispered.

"Hey" he replied, his voice so quiet it was barely more than a gruff mumble.

She leant towards him and captured his lips, working against each other until she parted her own and granted him entry. Alex let him push against her until she was literally lay on the sofa with him leaning over her. His hands roamed her body until they found her waist, holding onto her tightly and adoring the contact between them. She put an arm around his neck and pulled him further against her, whilst the other began to unbutton his shirt.

"This has to be what you want" he burst as he broke the kiss.

She nodded quickly and dived back to him, reclaiming his lips. Gene scooped her up into his arms and lifted her off of the sofa.

"I'll stay the night if you promise you won't transfer?"

"I won't leave you Gene" she replied.

"Let's go to bed Bolls"


End file.
